I read 'The Hobbit' in the Eleventh Grade for English Class and then snatched up a copy of FotR at a local Walmart, which had the artwork of Frodo against the Nazgul at the Ford of Bruinen, with the text "A Motion Picture Trilogy Coming Soon From New Line Cinema". Though FotR took me a few months to read, TTT took only 2 weeks, and RotK a mere 3 days. It was definitely the most intense and emotional reading experience of my life.

Favorite Tolkien character:

Gollum - After being established as such a despicable and vile character in 'The Hobbit', I found it incredibly interesting that he became an "ally" of sorts in The Two Towers. It was a great angle for Tolkien to play, and Gollum became the most intriguing (and multi-faced - literally) character in the whole story.